Rare earth element patterns of settling particles collected at five water depths (890 to 3,240 m) of the Japan Sea show significant positive Ce anomalies. The very surface sediment exhibits a slightly positive one. Excess Ce content over the Ce/La ratio of average shale increases with increasing excess Mn content from 890 to 1,870 m, and it possibly remains constant below this depth. These results give evidence for the removal of Ce in association with the removal of Mn from seawater by settling particles. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1989